Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Ferris Bueller is so right on with this one. How is Thanksgiving THIS WEEK?!?! Time flies by yet, I never seem to get anything done.

Last week was hellish. I was swamped with work and commitments (so I barely got any work done) and then had to attend a conference in Portland. It was relatively fun, but not all that informative and I could have spent my time otherwise (not to mention all the time I spent dealing with logistics of getting 10 other students down there).

I caught a cold on my return from Hawaii, my car battery died and had to be replaced, and I lost my student id (which doubles as a bus pass). I spent the week in shock, thinking about my friend’s sister’s murder (they arrested two men, one who confessed), and worrying about another friend’s father who was having a brain tumor removed (the surgery went well and the tumor was benign).

This weekend I treated myself to a glorious morning of sleeping in (12 hours of sleep!), a leisurely run with my roommate, dinner with an old friend, an easy hike up north with a new friend, and just a bit of homework. And in just 3 days, I’ll be back in the comforts of my childhood home. My mom (who, I don’t say it enough, is amazing!) will cook me all the foods I am craving and let me stay in my pjs all day. I get to catch up with my brother and play with my nephew. And see my best friends, and best friend’s new baby. I will feel all nervous about attending my 10-year high school reunion, but then have a blast. I’ll still work on my thesis, but I’ll do it in a place that makes me feel all warm and cozy.

Then I will come back to Seattle and life will be all crazy again. But as the keynote speaker at last week’s conference pointed out, cities experience traffic congestion because they have desirable qualities. There is a reason why San Francisco is congested and Flint, Michigan isn’t. So maybe there is a reason my life is “congested” too?!?